I am sorry that it has been a while since I have updated. I wish that I had an excuse; like that I was really busy and I have a lot of cool things to write about. Unfortunately, I’m just lazy. My counterpart showed up at my site one morning last week to inform me that there was a workshop for the School Family Initiative. I had just come back from a run and I was sweaty and disgusting. The meeting, of course, was starting in 2 minutes. I threw on some clothes and sat in on the workshop. Now, I feel like I should explain how a typical Uganda workshop operates:
- The workshop was scheduled to start at 8, but it did not start until 10:30 because everyone showed up late. Surprisingly, this is actually pretty good in Ugandan standards.
- The workshop started with a prayer, then we sang the national anthem, and then all 30 people had to stand up and introduce themselves. Some people are quick and mumble, while others talk for about 5 minutes.
- For the next 5 hours the workshop is conducted in a lecture style. There is time for questions and comments in between, where people usually take this time to speak nonsense, just so they can hear themselves speak. (Just like what happens in America!)
- This brings me to the title of my blog. One teacher raised his hand to comment on whether or not teachers should say, “I love you” to students. How that topic came about, I am not even sure. He is rambling on and on about himself and his experiences. All of a sudden he says, “I know I’m a bad person, but at least I’m good looking.” My counterpart and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows and laughed. It had absolutely nothing to do with what we were talking about.
- Statements are constantly being turned into questions. For example, if I was leading a lecture, I might talk like this: “The students need good discipline. The students need what? Good disciple. If they are not disciplined, then they will misbehave. The students will what? They will misbehave.” The audience will usually join in and answer the question as well – much like the teaching style in Uganda. A lot of us volunteers have picked up the habit of speaking like this, and it’s quite fun. Although, I’m not sure that it will be well received when we return to the US.
- The workshop was supposed to serve food, but that did not happen. By the time it finished at 3:30, I was starving because I had not eaten anything all day.
I was done with teaching two weeks before term was over because the students had to take their final exams. I went to the health clinic one day during my time off to help Gowa set up balance sheets to keep track of money and supplies. While I was there, Gowa asked me if I would go with him to visit a patient. I agreed, and we walked over to the patient’s house down the road. We greeted the patient’s wife, and she led us into the bedroom. At first I could not even tell there was a body in the bed; this man was all skin and bones. He was curled up in the fetal position and he looked at me with eyes that said, “Put me out of my misery.” Since I am an mzungu, they immediately thought that I was there to rescue them and take care of their troubles. I have never felt so utterly helpless, and I stood there trying to find the proper thing to say. I talked with his wife for a little while. She told me that her and her husband were diagnosed with HIV a while back. They were both put on ARVs, but her husband stopped taking them after he felt better. He eventually got worse, and she said that he only had a few more days to live. I left their house sick to my stomach – I had just met a dying man in a two-bedroom house made of mud, and there was nothing I could do to help. While I know that I can’t solve all the world’s problems while I am here, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat defeated. Gowa and I, however, discussed a plan for HIV/AIDS education in the community when I return from IST (In Service Training for Peace Corps). I am happy that I will be able to work on that and feel like I am doing my part.
During my time off, I have spent a lot of time with my neighbors. Sauya’s son and daughter are back from secondary school, so I hang out with them a lot because they are around the same age. I did not buy any groceries last week since I knew I’d be leaving for 3 weeks for IST; so I ate pretty much every meal with my neighbors as well. Sauya has a bad rat problem in her house, and you can hear them running around everywhere. One night, when I was over for dinner, the power was out and we were eating by the light of one candle. I felt something on my foot, and at first I thought that it was just my pants. Then it started to tickle and move. I thought I was just being paranoid, until I felt something crawl on top of my foot. My eyes grew wide and I clenched my teeth as I thought to myself, “Don’t make a scene. It’s going to be okay.” I casually said, “I think there is something crawling on my foot.” We all looked under the table with the candlelight, and the rat scurried away. No big deal; we continued to eat like this was a perfectly normal occurrence.
I am currently at IST for the next ten days. We will have a three-day break, and then we have to return for All-Volunteer Conference. It’s a little weird being back with my training class again in Lweza. It has been three months since I have seen a lot of them! My neighbors were all very sad to see me go, and I had a lot of tea before I left. I planned to leave at 9 in the morning to head to Kampala, but I did not end up leaving until 12:30. I stopped to say goodbye to each of my neighbors, and they all insisted in either inviting me inside for either tea or food. Living in a country where time doesn’t mean anything can be relaxing at times. I don’t ever feel rushed; I can just go with the flow.
A great thing about being in the city is that I now have a great Internet connection. So I am online a lot now and able to chat with all of you lovely people. So get on Skype and gchat!
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